Silas Marrs Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 I thought I would take a minute away from trying to fix v14 bugs to take the blame for them. I've been a programmer with Accordance since 2017, and I started heading up the programming team when Joel took a job in the aerospace industry last year. Some of you will remember about when that was, because we haven't really had enough programmers for any of us to spend much time on the forums since then. I think the largest source of bugs in the v14 release were due to last-minute changes I made, mostly without much consultation with anyone else. First, I couldn't face our windows users if we'd had another major release without any sort of dark mode. We'd put off for years because we knew it'd be a nightmare. I also decided to make dark mode work without having to restart the app while I was at it. This seems to have introduced a plethora of bugs related to text style settings, and I think I have found and fixed the most egregious of those for the next release. Second, I made a last minute decision to totally rewrite the file formats for the new phrasing feature, which likely introduced many of the bugs you're seeing in that feature. My reason for doing this relates to a recent set of complaints on the forum about how opaque some of our existing filetypes are, which I totally agreed with. The feature was originally designed with a file format similar to what we use for highlights, which has shown itself to be susceptible to corruption. I converted it to use simple JSON files, which is a format most programmers will be familiar with, and can be understood by a human with a text editor. In the long term, my plan is to do something similar with user notes and highlights, and maybe the other user file types. None of that really justifies releasing with as many bugs as I did, but since I was kinda expected to have v14 ready in time for the SBL conference last year, the idea of totally missing the one this year seemed like it might be pushing a bit too far. And it didn't seem like any of the issues I was aware of were a big enough deal that we couldn't just put out a fix in a few more days. I just didn't count on being bedridden with a fever last Wednesday, which is the main reason you haven't seen any fixes yet. 11 25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwebb6 Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Thanks for the post, update, and the accepting of responsibility. Appreciate the work you do and look forward to the bug fixes and Accordance 14 working well. Good luck in your efforts. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Patterson Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 @Silas Marrs I appreciate you communicating that with us. It's much easier to be understanding when it's explained. I'm sorry everything has exploded like this. Thank you for your hard work. The last-minute changes make sense in light of long-term stability and longevity. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Weaks Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 This was kind of you Silas, but I don't think it necessary to offer an abundance of guilt before the ungracious and entitled voices that have arisen in this forum. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanHuber Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Thank you, Silas. I hope you're feeling better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbcvida Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 thank you Silas for your kind words - just hearing from you sets my mind at ease. You need not feel guilty about your choices - we all make decisions that turn out different than expected. We have utmost confidence in you, and for me I am more than willing to wait for necessary fixes now that that we have a context. You have produced a great piece of software and we are indebted to you - we pray for your continued health and success. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pastor Jonathan Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Silas Marrs said: I thought I would take a minute away from trying to fix v14 bugs to take the blame for them. I've been a programmer with Accordance since 2017, and I started heading up the programming team when Joel took a job in the aerospace industry last year. Some of you will remember about when that was, because we haven't really had enough programmers for any of us to spend much time on the forums since then. I think the largest source of bugs in the v14 release were due to last-minute changes I made, mostly without much consultation with anyone else. First, I couldn't face our windows users if we'd had another major release without any sort of dark mode. We'd put off for years because we knew it'd be a nightmare. I also decided to make dark mode work without having to restart the app while I was at it. This seems to have introduced a plethora of bugs related to text style settings, and I think I have found and fixed the most egregious of those for the next release. Second, I made a last minute decision to totally rewrite the file formats for the new phrasing feature, which likely introduced many of the bugs you're seeing in that feature. My reason for doing this relates to a recent set of complaints on the forum about how opaque some of our existing filetypes are, which I totally agreed with. The feature was originally designed with a file format similar to what we use for highlights, which has shown itself to be susceptible to corruption. I converted it to use simple JSON files, which is a format most programmers will be familiar with, and can be understood by a human with a text editor. In the long term, my plan is to do something similar with user notes and highlights, and maybe the other user file types. None of that really justifies releasing with as many bugs as I did, but since I was kinda expected to have v14 ready in time for the SBL conference last year, the idea of totally missing the one this year seemed like it might be pushing a bit too far. And it didn't seem like any of the issues I was aware of were a big enough deal that we couldn't just put out a fix in a few more days. I just didn't count on being bedridden with a fever last Wednesday, which is the main reason you haven't seen any fixes yet. @Silas Marrs, First, thank you for the explination. It means a lot that you took the time to come and explain. Second, I do pray and hope you are feeling better. It is a major blow to be out for that long. And I thank God you are up and about. Third, I am not a programmer, nor do I understand that field. However, knowing now a little more, what can I do to help? Fourth, To meet some of these deadlines, whether self imposed or company imposed, I can only speak for myself, but I would rather have a longer delay and a better system with healthy programmers than a bad program, sick programmers, and early roll out. I'll say again, I am willing to help where and as I can. What can I do? Feel free to DM me if you wish. Glad you are back in the saddle again and may God continue to heal you. Thanks. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silas Marrs Posted November 30, 2022 Author Share Posted November 30, 2022 Thank you @Pastor Jonathan! Best way everyone can help is helping me prioritize which fixes are most important to them. I think I've hit the ones that most people are noticing, but there have been so many forum posts while I was out sick I can't be sure I haven't missed important things. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pastor Jonathan Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 @Silas Marrs, Will be glad to help how I can. One DM on the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Cobb Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Chiming in with what the others have said, I'll just say thank you Silas for this update on the situation. No need to offer apologies. It certainly is helpful and clears the air. Best wishes for your ongoing work! We are immensely grateful for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristin Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Thank you so much for your thoughtful post, @Silas Marrs. Hearing from you is a relief and puts my mind at ease. Time pressure can cause a host of issues and everything you wrote is very understandable. I know that the time pressure was not just internal, and I hope in the future you are not felt so rushed. You mentioned that it would help for people to prioritize which fixes are most important. I am not sure if this is helpful or not, but just in case it is helpful for you, I will mention it: I think what makes the most sense are bugs which affect all versions. This would be in contrast to issues which are exclusive to 14. Like I know people were mentioning library organizational issues occurring in 13 after using 14. By contrast, I would think that the phrasing bug is low, as it is only connected to 14, but perhaps that is not correct given what you said how it is tied to fonts. I am not sure if this idea is helpful or laughably ignorant, but I wanted to mention it just in case it is helpful. I hope you are feeling better, and thank you again for your kind post. Kristin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick55 Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 (edited) 'Text display font' colors and 'tool text font' colors are not saving in my workspace The font style seems to have saved, but not the font colors. - Is anyone else experiencing this? Edited November 30, 2022 by Rick55 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb B Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 4 minutes ago, Rick55 said: Text and Tool displays are not saving in my Workspace - anyone else experience this? Please start a new thread in the bug swatters so this can be tracked and addressed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Woo hoo! Glad you're back on your feet. Of all the bugs people were discussing, it turned out to a biological one that hit the hardest. Of the technical bugs, since you opened the floor to feedback, I suggest prioritising the ones that are breaking the program or corrupting/hiding user data: 1. Corruption of preferences when upgrading from Accordance 13 to 14. (Copying to .bak and offering a revert-to-13 menu-option would help in the short run.) 2. Windows (main + Easy Install) poking above the top of the main monitor when opened, leaving the controls inaccessible for single-monitor PCs. For the rest, consider listing them in a poll, and everyone can mark the ones that affect them most with a 'like' or 'sad' emoticon. There's one in the Mac bugs forum that you can start with. After you've stabilised Accordance 14, if you'd like some fresh eyes to look over the new file formats, feel free to email me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cweber Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 5 hours ago, Silas Marrs said: I converted it to use simple JSON files, which is a format most programmers will be familiar with, and can be understood by a human with a text editor. In the long term, my plan is to do something similar with user notes and highlights, and maybe the other user file types. @Silas Marrs this is great news about JSON. Please take your time and I look forward to the consistency across all of these that have identified. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. Smith Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 This and Troy’s response are exactly the sort of thing I think most of,us were hoping to see. Mistakes are not a problem. We’re human and it’s inevitable. Accountability matters. And accountability is not blame, please note. So, thank you for this and for your continued work. And, of course, take time to heal! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Bedsole Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 17 hours ago, Silas Marrs said: Thank you @Pastor Jonathan! Best way everyone can help is helping me prioritize which fixes are most important to them. I think I've hit the ones that most people are noticing, but there have been so many forum posts while I was out sick I can't be sure I haven't missed important things. Hi @Silas Marrs. Don't know if you saw this earlier, but here it is just in case: Thanks for the information and the update. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 @Silas Marrs Just out of curiosity, what language is Accordance written in? I appreciate the snapshot into the development process and have always wondered what you all write in. Have you transitioned to Swift or something more modern or “web-based” like Electron? There’s been slew of impressive Electron apps lately like 1Password8 and Obsidian that are blazing fast and feel native (esp Obsidian which can handle massive amounts of text files). It just seems kinda the direction everything is going. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekim37 Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schulschlus Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 It was certainly a nice surprise to suddenly see dark mode available! Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarcher Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Silas, thanks again for your hard work and dedication. There is a lot to be said for for your work in moving some of the Accordance files / architecture to something that is more stable and modern (and readable by us!). That's not a small deal. Smart move. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erhard Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Silas, thanks for the post and all the hard work you are doing and continue to do. Hope you are feeling better. God Bless you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tswope Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 @Silas Marrs, thank you so much for the 14.0.2 update launched this morning. It seems to have resolved the Text display issues for me. I love the ability to customize a dark mode, customize a light mode, and then be able to easily toggle between the two modes with the toolbar button. Very fancy. Thank you. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt O Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Thank you Silas for this information. I think by the responses you can see that the community supports you. I will continue to pray for you, your family, your ministry and your work. What you do makes our endeavors as students and teachers of Scripture quite fun! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silas Marrs Posted December 1, 2022 Author Share Posted December 1, 2022 21 hours ago, Spencer said: what language is Accordance written in? Roy and Joel considered that proprietary information for reasons I don't fully understand. Accordance is written primarily in Object Pascal, and has been since the 90s. We currently use the Free Pascal compiler, and we've managed to tweak xcode to work as the IDE on mac. On Windows, we use the Lazarus IDE. Modern Pascal is a great language, comparable to C in speed. But because our codebase predates our IDEs, we aren't able to use any of the features of a modern IDE that would speed up development. Like building views in a GUI - we have to do it manually in code. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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